美国国家公共电台 NPR One Month Later, What's Become Of Melania Trump's 'Be Best' Campaign?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's been one month since first lady Melania Trump¹ unveiled her Be Best initiative in a ceremony at the White House.

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MELANIA TRUMP: I feel strongly that, as adults, we can and should be best at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life.

MARTIN: Since then, the first lady was hospitalized for a kidney condition. And she hasn't been seen a whole lot in public since then. Melania Trump waited more than a year before choosing a platform as first lady. As NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, it's taken a little while to get the program off the ground.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE²: On the afternoon of May 7, Melania Trump strolled into the White House Rose Garden and announced she'd be making children her focus as first lady.

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M. TRUMP: I will also work to shine a spotlight³ on the people, organizations and programs across the country that are helping⁴ children overcome the many issues they're facing as they grow up.

MCCAMMON: But beyond shining a spotlight, it's unclear so far what the initiative will involve. At the ceremony, Trump was joined by leaders of groups working on such issues, including Stephen Balkam of the Family Online Safety Institute. He's been in touch with the first lady's office since then but says he's heard of no specific plans for next steps.

STEPHEN BALKAM: Obviously, she's had surgery, and she's been out of the public eye for a while. So at the moment, I think we're in a holding pattern.

MCCAMMON: On May 14, a week after the Be Best campaign launch, the White House said Melania Trump underwent a procedure to treat what was described as a benign⁵ kidney condition. She was hospitalized for five days and didn't appear in public for more than three weeks, prompting questions about her health and whereabouts. Yesterday, she joined President Trump at a briefing on hurricane season where he said she was doing well.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: She went through a little rough patch, but she's doing great. And we're very proud of her.

MCCAMMON: By way of comparison, in the first month of former first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, she'd already visited a handful of schools and youth organizations to promote physical fitness. Melania Trump's office has released few details about her initiative since the launch and hasn't responded to NPR's request for an update. So we reached out to several groups involved in the rollout. Kelly Nantel with the National Safety Council says she doesn't know of any events. But she hopes the Be Best campaign will promote efforts to dispose of unused prescription⁶ pain medications.

KELLY NANTEL: The first lady really loved that idea. And she's very, very interested in ways that we can reduce the supply chain because she recognizes that having unused opioids in your medicine cabinet presents a tremendous risk.

MCCAMMON: Another group working on that issue is Lily's Place, a treatment center in West Virginia for infants exposed to opioids. The first lady visited there last year. Executive director Rebecca Crowder says she, too, has not heard from the White House about plans for a follow-up.

REBECCA CROWDER: It has only been a month, so I figure they're probably still working out some details. But I do expect, you know - fully⁷ expect that we will hear from them again.

MCCAMMON: But Crowder says the initiative already is having an impact. Just mentioning her organization at the White House is helping raise awareness⁸ and money.

Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Washington.

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1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

6 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。